Classically trained musicians usually find it hard to improvise or play jazz. However, they can learn a lot from this process. In this article, we will explore the difference between classical and jazz musicians’ mindsets and what classical musicians can learn from a jazz musician's perspective.
Difference Between Being a Jazz and Classical Musician
The music-making process in a jazz setting differs from that in a classical setting. American jazz pianist Bill Evans once said that jazz is not so much a style but a process of making music. And to make one-minute music, it can take three months of work.
The difference between classical and jazz culture also matters. The communities within classical and jazz cultures value different things. Musicians who play classical music typically give recitals. They learn a specific music piece (sonata or concerto) and take part in competitions where technical mastery, together with their memory, execution, and stage presence, are valued as the most crucial criteria.
When it comes to jazz, musicians jam in very different situations. It can be any informal setting like a coffee shop or in a restaurant. They can play a standard repertoire or participate in competitions, but the jazz community would value them for absolutely different things. They wouldn't be valued for their technique or accuracy but for the ideas they can come up with at that specific moment.
Classical music in the 18th and 19th centuries was closely connected with European salon culture, when people gathered for big events. They played their own compositions for friends and even improvised. People gathered and made music. It looked much like jazz culture today. Some classical traditions still maintain improvisation (such as organ playing).
Classical and jazz musicians process time differently. Playing the groove or maintaining the cadence with a drummer is crucial in jazz. This requires having an understanding of rhythmic form whether it’s blues or any other type of music.
When musicians play a classical piece like a Chopin nocturne, they experience a temporary change in tempo (known as rubato), where certain notes are stretched, while others are delayed for expressive effect. In jazz, this also happens when musicians play ballads with long intros.
Jazz Musician’s Mindset
Jazz musicians are focused on what and why, while classical musicians are mostly focused on how. In other words, jazz musicians need to know what to play and why to play it.
Since improvisation in jazz is an art of spontaneous composition, every jazz player is a composer in a certain sense. When improvising you learn how to compose. Composing requires having an understanding of music theory and why you play specific notes or harmonies. When jazz musicians improvise they create spontaneous compositions in that specific moment.
At the same time composers are not the same as improvisers, as they have time to make edits while improvising players deal with solos and ideas that happen at the moment.
Jazz musicians often work with the unknown when improvising. They try different keys and maneuver their instrument for better connection between it and their ears.
The ultimate goal of every jazz musician is to develop a unique voice and sound when just by playing a few notes they can get recognized by listeners.
Classical Musician’s Mindset
Classical musicians are mostly focused on how they perform pieces that have been composed by someone else. They care about bringing the ideas to life by relying on their musical experience.
While composers go through the process of why and what, classical instrumentalists work with how to perform it at the highest level. These musicians work with a set of repertoire to gain more knowledge about their instrument and be able to execute someone else’s music at their best.
Classical musicians spend much time refining sightreading skills and learning to start a note correctly or make a transition between a few notes. During the study of classical music players aren’t focused on theory or what composers do in their pieces all the time. In most cases when classical musicians learn a composition they talk about articulations, dynamics, and transitions to make it more expressive.
The improvisational aspect of classical music has been removed from pedagogy, making it more focused on how rather than why and what. Therefore, the goal for classical musicians is to perform music flawlessly and exactly as it’s written, regardless of technical demands. They learn to interpret the piece of music but not to analyze or compose themselves.
What Makes a Well-Rounded Musician?
Playing jazz after being engaged in classical music can be challenging because of the skill set you’ve developed. However, some of them can help you benefit from the new genre. The same applies for jazz musicians who learn classical music.
A jazz musician can benefit from classical training in the following aspects:
- the history of the instrument
- correct playing position and grip
- technical aspects of how to play the instrument
- seamless transitions between notes
- more improved airflow and consistent playing
A classical musician can benefit from jazz training in the following aspects:
- better understanding of what you play and why
- ability to play without sheet music
- Improved time, groove, and feel
- thinking in chord functions, not just written notes
- removing fear of mistakes through improvisation
- improved awareness of what others are playing in an ensemble
- ability to hear notes in your head and then be able to play them
- ability to accept imperfections
- more freedom and confidence
The Art of Improvisation for Classical Musicians
Classical musicians, including great ones like Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven, were all improvisers. Improvisation provides classical players with many benefits:
- Playing without scores. You can stop seeing written notes as sacred symbols in a positive way. They turn into sounds for you.
- Hearing music. You stop relying on muscle memory and learn to hear music in your head before you play.
- Improved phrasing and timing. Once you learn to create a phrase on the spot, you understand where phrases breathe and where they drive forward.
- More confidence. Improvisers expect imperfection and don’t freeze when something goes wrong. They learn to adapt.
How to Practice Improvisation
Start small with one key or one scale. You can even take one chord and improvise rhythmically before adding pitch complexity. By limiting yourself to one rhythm or two notes, you build control and creativity faster.
Work with harmony, not melodies. Try to play over a bass line or chord progression.
Improvise daily. You can improvise just for 5–10 minutes per session. The duration is not as important as consistency.
Final Word
There are lots of skills that classical musicians can learn from jazz players. First of all through jazz improvisation they can learn to make music instead of just reading the scores, as well as feeling more freedom and digging deeper into the “why” of music.
Classical musicians are awesome players who bring to life someone else’s ideas at the highest levels no matter how challenging they are. However, when combined with improved timing, ensemble playing feel, and thinking in chord functions, not just written notes, they can become really well-rounded musicians.
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